Dining: La Estacion |Las Croabas, Puerto Rico

Today’s post will take us outside of San Juan and into the quaint area of Las Croabas in Fajardo to a place called La Estacion. A former gas station converted into a beautiful outdoor restaurant and bar, La Estacion is easily one of our favorite spots on the island for delicious drinks and delectable food. We were so unbelievably impressed by the atmosphere and the chef’s all-local and never frozen philosophy, we wished we had the chance to eat here more than once.

The quality here is truly unsurpassed and the staff were very friendly. There really is no chance or ordering incorrectly here, but as a rule of thumb, I’d recommend having something fresh off of their grill, and of course, their seafood. Their seafood is SO fresh, our waiter came out with a beautiful five-pound Caribbean lobster which was vibrant, alive, and kicking. It was huge and I wish we had had more time for dinner before our boat trip to Fajardo Bay so that we could have indulged in this uniquely Caribbean treat.

Since we were in a pinch for time, we ordered cocktails and appetizers to tide us over until after our Bio Bay tour. Our drinks came out quickly (a mojito for the boy, a pina colada for me) and were the best cocktails we had on our entire trip. Then our selection of pinchos (skewers) came out. OH. MY. GOODNESS. Three skewers for each of us as a “snack” felt much more like a meal. The pork loin and the chicken were drenched in their house-made guava barbecue sauce, which to this day, I am dreaming of. Served with fluffy garlic bread, these fell into the ranks of the best barbecue I have had– anywhere. The highlight however, were the pinchos camarones. The BEST grilled shrimp skewer on the planet. Seriously. And I’m from California where there is no shortage of seafood.

Our waiter smiled when I asked him if the recipe for their dry rub was a secret– this just means we’ll need to come back here every chance we get!